I’m a Senior Lecturer at Dundee Business School. I previously held teaching positions at KIMEP University, Kazakhstan, Wayne State University, US, and Viterbo University, US.
I hold a PhD in Management from the University of Northampton and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin.
My principal research interests focus on public-private partnership management in transitional nations. I have published extensively in this area and since 2012, I have also served as an independent director on the Board of Kazakhstan’s first public-private partnership (PPP).
From a research perspective, I’m also interested in:
• corporate governance
• strategic management
• international business - particularly in relation to emerging markets
• the impact of public private partnerships on social, economic and environmental sustainability
• governance arrangements and management solutions related to the growing use of renewable energy
• entrepreneurship in cosmopolitan cities
If you’re interested in working in any of these areas as a PhD student, feel free to get in touch.
My main teaching area is business strategy. Currently, I am a module leader for:
- Strategic Management and Leadership;
- Contemporary Issues in Business;
- Digital Business Strategy; and
- Researching Business (research methods).
My principal research interest is in the area of public-private partnership (PPP) governance in transitional nations and beyond. This theme includes issues such as risk management, partner interaction and stakeholder value management. In addition, I am interested in research in the following areas:
Further, I am interested in studying Entrepreneurship in Cosmopolitan Cities, such as London, Dubai and Singapore.
I am also doing research on energy policy and governance in resource-rich nations.
ESRC grant to conduct an event during the Festival of Social Science 2018. “Hidden Figures”: Race and gender equality through time. St Leonards School in St Andrews. 3-10 November 2018. £900.
The Erasmus+ grant to collaborate with the Russian universities, July 2018 to September 2020, EURO 62,640.
The Erasmus+ grant to collaborate with Kazakhsan’s KIMEP University and Eurasian Technological University, July 2018 to September 2020, EURO 60,750.
The Erasmus+ grant to collaborate with Ukraine’s Kiev National Economics University, July 2018 to September 2020, EURO 51,220.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-China Researcher Links Workshop on Socially responsible waste management and resource efficiency in global supply chains, Shanghai, China, 26-29 June 2018, £1,500.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Thailand Researcher Links Workshop on Innovation: Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ Digital Transformation, Bangkok, Thailand, 26-30 March 2018, £1,500.
The Erasmus+ Programme, grant for staff mobility for internationalisation via collaborative projects in teaching and training with a partner university in Kazakhstan – Eurasian Technological University, June 2017 to September 2018. Drafted an application and will serve as key person for implementation (together with Dr Anastasia Koulouri). EURO 58,000.
The Erasmus+ Programme, grant for staff mobility for internationalisation via collaborative projects in teaching and training with two partner universities in Ukraine – Kiev National Economics University and Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University, June 2017 to September 2018. Drafted an application and will serve as key person for implementation (together with Dr Anastasia Koulouri). EURO 47,000.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Brazil Researcher Links Workshop on Indicators and Metrics for Socially Inclusive Waste Management and Resource Efficiency (WM&RE) in Supply Chains: Measuring and Reporting to Embed Sustainability in Policy and Practice, Florianópolis, Brazil, £1,500, 23-25 May 2017.
British Council, grant for Leadership Development Project in Ukraine: Building Quality Assurance System of Higher Education at Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University, Kremenchuk, Ukraine, £7,200, September 2016 to March 2017 (Principal Applicant).
British Council, grant for an individual research project on Social responsibility in the Kazakhstan's energy sector: From corporate strategic management to stakeholder governance. Kazakhstan, £5,750, June 2016 to June 2017 (Principal Applicant).
British Council, grant to conduct a five-day Researcher Links Workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on behalf of Abertay University. Theme: Management of Innovation in the Agricultural Sector. I drafted and submitted the application, and subsequently organised and conducted the workshop (together with Dr Anastasia Koulouri) from 14 to 18 November 2016. £44,200.
British Council, grant to conduct a five-day Researcher Links Workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on behalf of Abertay University. Theme: Energy security: Sustainable management of natural resources. I drafted and submitted the application, and subsequently organised and conducted the workshop (together with Dr Anastasia Koulouri) from 27 June to 1 July 2016. £44,200.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Malaysia Researcher Links Workshop on Advancing maternity protection in Malaysia: Meeting social welfare and business needs, and contributing to economic development, Penang, Malaysia, £1,500, 27 July to 1 August 2016.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Thailand Researcher Links Workshop on Internationalisation of higher education: developing values-based intercultural research approaches, Bangkok, Thailand, £1,500, January 2016.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Indonesia Researcher Links Workshop on Development of disaster resilient coastal communities to enhance economic development and social welfare, Bandung, Indonesia, £1,500, October 2015.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Kazakhstan Researcher Links Workshop on Promotion of Clean Energy in Resource-Rich Countries: The Case Study of Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan, £1,500, August 2015.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Kazakhstan Researcher Links Workshop on Emerging Economies, Almaty, Kazakhstan, £1,500, February 2015.
British Council, travel grant for participation in the UK-Malaysia Researcher Links Workshop on Disaster Risk Management, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, £1,500, February 2015.
KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan, grant for participation in the 54th Annual Conference of Western Social Science Association, Houston, Texas, US, $1,300, April 2012.
Central European University, Hungary, grant for participation in an in-depth five-day training session on qualitative research methods, Budapest, $2,000, February 2012.
Central European University, Hungary, grant for participation in a two-week course on fiscal decentralization, Budapest, $3,800, July 2009.
Central European University, Hungary, travel grant for participation in a training course on diversity and inclusive public policy, Budapest, $1,600, November 2008.
KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan, travel grant for participation in a conference on higher education policy in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, $2,000, September 2008.
Central European University, Hungary, visiting research fellowship on higher education policy in Kazakhstan, Budapest, $12,500, May to August 2008.
Central European University, Hungary, travel grant for participation in a training course on managing multiethnic communities and public policy, Budapest, $1,600, June 2007.
External examiner for Cranfield University’s MBA programme.
Literati – 2017 Highly Commended Award by Emerald Publishing for the paper Conceptualising Cosmopolitanism and Entrepreneurship through the Lens of the Three-Dimensional Theory of Power, 2016, Society and Business Review, Vol. 11, No. 3, 242–256. (CABS 2*)
Member of the Regional Studies Association (RSA)
Member of the Editorial Board, International Journal of Comparative Management, 2017 to present.
Member of the Editorial Board, Journal of Saratov University (Economics and Management stream), Russia, 2013 to present.
Guest Editor of Special Issue on ‘Clean Energy: Innovation in Policy, Management and Praxis’, International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning (CABS 1*), 2018.
Invited Lectures/Presentations
Cosmopolitanism and entrepreneurship through the lens of the three-dimensional theory of power. Research seminar for Henley Business School, University of Reading, Reading, 17 May 2017.
Made a guest presentation for Eurasian Development Bank (an international investment bank) on challenges involved in financing public-private partnerships, Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 2014
Visiting Affiliations
Visiting Research Fellow, higher education policy in Kazakhstan, Central European University, Budapest, May to August 2008.
Visiting Professor, the University of Cooperative Education (Berufs Academie), Ravensburg, Germany, September to December 2004
Cosmopolitanism and entrepreneurship through the lens of the three-dimensional theory of power. Research seminar for Henley Business School, University of Reading, Reading, 17 May 2017.
From 8/2015 to 8/2016 I served as an Associate Editor for a journal Business Ethics – a European Review (2* ABS journal, Wiley).
In addition, I have been a reviewer for the following international academic journals:
Public Management Review, 2011 to present
Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 2014 to present
Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 2012 to present
Sociological Inquiry (regarding sociology of outsourcing), 2011-2012
Central Asia Business Journal, 2009-2010
Also, in 2007 I drafted a research report on the structure and conditions in higher education in Kazakhstan. This research report was commissioned by the University of Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) for the purpose of developing its strategy for offering academic degree programmes in Central Asian nations.
From 2012 to present, I have been serving on the Board of Directors, in the capacity of Independent Director, of Doszhan Temir Zholy – a railroad operator in Kazakhstan. This company was the first public-private partnership (PPP) in the nation, with an investment of more than $280 million since 2005 in construction and operation of a railroad in Eastern Kazakhstan. I provided advice and made recommendations to the Board and participated in the Board's decision-making in multiple areas including financial planning, human resource management and PPP strategy formulation and implementation.
s.de-alwis@abertay.ac.uk
+44 (0)1382 30 8270
m.weldon-johns@abertay.ac.uk
+44 (0)1382 30 8149